Menu Plan Monday

This is going to be a short and sweet post today!! The whole daylight savings thing has thown me for a loop.  Hope I adjust quickly because I do like the extra hour of light in the evening.

This Week's Menu
Monday: California Chowder
Tuesday: Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
Wednesday: Goulosh
Thursday: Scrambled Egg Nests
Friday: Hawaiian Haystacks
Saturday; Homemade Pizza
Sunday: Baked Beef Stew

Have a fabulous week!!

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Meatball Week: More Recipes

To end Meatball I week I have searched my favorite blogs  and some new great ones)  and found a few more great meatball ideas for us!! Enjoy!!

Mini Meatball Subs @ Pioneer Woman

Meatball Tortellini Soup @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Swedish Meatballs @ Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker

Maple Meatballs @ Happier Than a Pig in Mud

I hope you enjoyed Meatball Week!

If there is anything you would like to see me focus on next, please let me know!

Thanks for your support and patience! 

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Tuna White Bean and Fennel Salad

Tuna White Bean and Fennel Salad

Why this recipe works: This quick salad takes its inspiration from Tuscany, where hearty portions of round white beans and high quality canned tuna are lightly dressed with olive oil for an easy summer dinner. We wanted to toss in some sliced fennel for added flavor and depth, but we found its crunchy bite a bit distracting. So instead of cutting the fennel by hand, we use a mandoline to make paper thin pieces. This technique also gives us soft ribbons a visually appealing addition to this multi textured salad. The strong citrus taste of the vinaigrette stands up to the other flavors in this dish, but it can be a little cloying. To counteract the sweetness, as well as the peppery taste of the watercress, we bring in the strong, briny flavor of oil cured olives. We found that there are huge differences in quality from one brand of canned tuna to the next. It’s important to pay attention to the texture of the tuna, specifically we wanted flaky chunks, not cat food.

Tuna, white bean, and fennel salad with orange vinaigrette

Ingredients: serve 4

4 (3 inch) strips zest, pith removed, and sliced into thin strips, and ½ cup juice from 2 oranges

3 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme salt and pepper

2 bunches watercress, trimmed (about 8 cups)

1 (16 ounces) can cannelloni beans, drained rinsed

1 fennel bulb, halved, cored, and sliced very thin on mandoline

½ cup pitted oil cured olives, halved

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

2 (12 ounce) cans tuna in water, drained and broken into bit size pieces

Procedures:

1. Combine zest, orange juice, and lemon juice in small saucepan and bring to boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl, whisk in oil and thyme, and season with salt and pepper.
2. In large bowl, combine watercress, beans, fennel, olives and tomatoes. Toss with vinaigrette until well coated and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on individual serving plates and top with pieces of tuna. Serve.

Smart shopping canned tuna

Given the minimal flavor differences in canned tunas, our test kitchen tasters focused on texture and that’s where chicken of the sea solid white albacore tuna in water gained an advantage over other tunas. This meaty canned tuna won raves for its moist texture, chunky appearance, large, beautiful flakes, and taste of the ocean.

Quick prep tip cutting orange zest

A vegetable peeler is a great tool for removing the zest from citrus fruit gently peel away a wide piece of zest, being careful to avoid any of the bitter white pith beneath it.

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Chicken Goat cheese and cherry salad

Chicken Goat cheese and cherry salad

Why this recipe works: this salad boasts an array of complementary flavors and textures: from sweet cherries to tangy goat cheese, crisp pecans to tender mesclun. We use the brown then simmer method for cooking the chicken breasts, which results in flavorful meat that’s also tender and moist. Mesclun a colorful mix of baby greens and lettuce is our choice for this salads base, but baby spinach is a fine substitute if mesclun isn’t available. Bittersweet orange marmalade, woodsy sherry vinegar, and savory shallot make for a unique vinaigrette that promotes harmony among the salad’s various flavors. The sweet, caramel notes of pecans provide an especially nice finishing flourish, but if you prefer walnuts, they can be used instead.

Chicken, goat cheese, and cherry salad with toasted pecans

Ingredients: serve 4

½ cup coarsely chopped pecans

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts about ¾ pound) salt and pepper

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup water

2 ½ tablespoons orange marmalade

2 ½ tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 small shallot, minced

12 ounces cherries, pitted and halved

1 (5 ounce) bag mesclun greens

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

Procedures:

1. In medium nonstick skillet, toast pecans over medium high heat until browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate, set aside, and wipe out skillet. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now empty skillet over medium high heat until just smoking. Cook chicken until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip chicken, then stir in water and 1 tablespoon marmalade. Simmer, covered, over medium heat until chicken is cooked through, 5  to 7 minutes. Transfer to cutting board.
2. In large bowl, combine remaining marmalade, vinegar, and shallot. Slowly whisk in remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper. In small bowl, toss cherries with 1 tablespoons dressing.
3. Add  mesclun to dressing, toss to combine, and divide among individual plates. Top with cherries, pecans, and goat cheese. Slice chicken crosswise and arrange on top of salad. Serve.

Quick prep tip pitting cherries

For neater cherry pitting, place a large bowl of water in the sink. Add the cherries and then pit them at the bottom of the bowl. The pits float to the surface for easy removal, the cherries are rinsed in the process, and your hands( and the kitchen) aren’t bright red from the juice.

Smart shopping mesclun

Often labeled “spring mix” or “salad mix” mesclun is an amalgam of various small, young salad greens. Mixes vary, but arugula, dandelion, frisse, mizuma, radicchio, oak leaf, mache, and sorrel are commonly included. Chose mesclun with crisp leaves and no signs of wilting. 

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Grilled Romaine and Steak Salad

Grilled Romaine and Steak Salad

Why this recipe works: here, we make grilling simple by taking away the timing element we just put everything on the grill at the same time and pull it off when it’s finished. Since we serve this salad at room temperature, we don’t have to worry about the quick cooking items getting cool while we’re waiting for the ones that take longer to finish up. We halve the romaine and grill it at a high temperature until it’s just charred; if the romaine stays on the grill too long, it wilts.

Grilled Romaine and steak salad with Dijon vinalgrette

Ingredients: serve 4

2 medium heads romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise through core

1 onion, cut into ½ inch rings

4 slices hearty white bread, 1 inch thick

¹_/3 cup vegetable oil salt and pepper

1 small flank steak(about 1 pound)

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

4 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

½ cup crumbled blue cheese

Procedures:

1. Brush cut sides of lettuce, both sides of onion slices, and both sides of bread with vegetable oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Season steak with salt and pepper. Grill steak directly over hot fire until well browned and internal temperature registers 125 degrees(medium rare),  4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil.
3. Meanwhile, grill onion slices around perimeter of grill until lightly browned and soft, 7 minutes per side, then transfer to platter. Grill lettuce on cut side only, with root ends in center of grill and leaves extended to perimeter of grill, until grill marks form, about 2 minutes. Transfer lettuce to platter and cut in half again, making 8 pieces. Grill bread until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes per side and transfer to platter.
4. combine vinegar and mustard in medium bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Slice steak thin against grain. Arrange 1 slice bread on each serving plate and top each piece with sliced steak. Arrange 2 lettuce wedges beside each slice bread and drizzle steak and lettuce with dressing. Sprinkle onion slices and blue cheese on top of steak and lettuce. Serve.

Quick prep tip managing a full grill

Every grill has hot spots, so when grilling a variety of foods that cook at different rates, it is important to know where these spots are. The hottest area on a grill is directly over the source of the heat. The cooler spot are located away from the heat source, usually around the perimeter of the grill. For this recipe, we place the onion slices around the perimeter so they soften before they get to brown. E place both the meat and the bread directly over the heat source, paying close attention to the bread directly over the heat source, paying close attention to the bread as it will char quickly. We found it best to place the hearty root ends of the lettuce directly over the heat and the delicate leaves over the less intense heat of the perimeter. 

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Shrimp Salad with Chili tomato

Shrimp Salad with Chili tomato Vinaigrette

Why this recipe works: shrimp is America’s favorite shellfish, and it’s no wonder: their subtle yet recognizable flavor works well in concert with any number of other ingredients and in just about any type of dish. For this shrimp salad, we begin by making the chili tomato vinaigrette. We found that using cherry tomatoes instead of a larger variety yields rich, full flavor of the salad, we needed our vinaigrette to be distinctive and bold, so we added a fresh jalapeño to the roasted tomatoes. For the salad itself, we prefer to make things simpler by using already cooked shrimps. If you are using uncooked, then poach them in salted water until they’re pink and just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. We always use fresh seasonal corn if it’s available, but if it’s not, frozen kernels are acceptable as long as they’re thawed before they’re incorporated into the salad. We toss the arugula into the salad just before serving to keep the leaves from wilting.

Shrimp Salad with Arugula, Corn and Chili tomato Vinaigrette

Ingredients: serve 4

2 pints cherry tomatoes, cut in half

6 garlic cloves, sliced thin

7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil salt and pepper

1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 pound precooked large shrimp

3 ears corn, kernels removed from cobs (about 2 cups)

1 (5 ounce) bag baby arugula

Procedures:

1. adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. In large bowl, toss 1 pint tomatoes and garlic with 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper. Arrange these tomatoes cut side up on rimmed baking sheet and roast until skins begin to brown on bottom, about 20 minutes. Return tomatoes to bowl and stir in jalapeño, remaining oil, and vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cut remaining tomatoes in half again to make quarters. In large bowl, toss these tomatoes with shrimp, corn, and roasted tomato vinaigrette until thoroughly mixed, then add arugula and toss until fully coated. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Quick prep tip roasting cherry tomatoes

Once the tomatoes are tossed in the oil and seasoning, place them cut side up on a baking sheet for maximum moisture evaporation. Roast in a 450 degree oven, rotating the tray halfway through cooking to ensure even roasting. The tomatoes are done in about 20 minutes, when the skins begin to brown on the bottom. 

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Grilled Eggplant Salad

Grilled Eggplant Salad with Chickpeas

Why this recipe works: we like to think of this grilled eggplant salad with notes of lemon and tahini as a deconstructed baba ghanoush a seasoned Middle Eastern eggplant puree often used as a spread or dip for flatbread. In our version, we cut the eggplants into planks, grill them until they’re well browned and tender, cut them down some more, then toss them with a dressing comprised of lemon juice, tahini, and soy sauce. We use the same dressing on the greens and the chickpeas before they’re added, which gives a unified flavor to the salad; we toss each ingredient separately, however, to ensure proper coating and seasoning. By tossing the chickpeas in the vinaigrette first, we allow them time to absorb some of the flavor as the eggplant cooks and the salad is assembled. It may seem as if the eggplant is not cooked enough when you take it off the grill, but even off the heat, the eggplant will continue to soften and be completely tender by the time you’re done assembling the salad.

Grilled eggplant salad with chickpeas and lemon tahini dressing

Ingredients: serve 4

2 tablespoons tahini

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 garlic clove, minced

2 teaspoons soy sauce

   Salt and pepper

1 (16 ounce) can chickpeas, drained

2 medium eggplants (about 1 pound each), trimmed and cut length wise into 1 inch

   Planks

1 (5 ounce) bag baby spinach

Procedures:

1. Whisk tahini, 2 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, garlic, and soy sauce together until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/3 of vinaigrette to medium bowl and toss with chickpeas.
2. Brush both side of eggplant planks with remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill eggplant planks over hot fire until well browned and tender, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to cutting board and cut in half lengthwise. Transfer to large bowl and toss with half remaining dressing.
3. toss spinach with remaining dressing and season with salt and pepper. Arrange eggplant spears on serving platter and top with spinach and chickpeas. Serve.

Smart shopping eggplant

Of the four eggplant varieties commonly found in supermarkets, the globe eggplant is the most versatile. Globe eggplants contain fewer seeds than their sister varieties, and their firm flesh retains its shape after cooking, making them an ideal choice for most cooking applications. Italian choice for most cooking applications. Italian eggplants are mildly spicy with lots of seeds; they’re best sautéed or stewed. Sweet and dry Chinese eggplants are great in stir fries, and thai eggplants, with their bright, grassy flavor and hints of spice, taste good enough to eat raw.

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